Apple’s Got Eyes Back On The iPad

Hi, today we explore: (1) Apple's buzzy-but-botched iPad advert, (2) America's weird sense of job satisfaction, (3) E-commerce sales are slowing down Good morning! Visitors to a Chinese zoo were left bamboozled after discovering that the “panda dogs” they had paid 20 yuan (~$3) to see were just chow chows [painted black-and-white](. Today we're exploring: - iCrushed: Apple's new ad has got everyone talking. - Job satisfaction: US workers are happier than ever... sort of. - Re-tailed off: E-commerce sales are slowing down. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply — we'd love to hear from you! TOGETHER WITH No such thing as bad press? Apple’s new Crush! ad for its latest iPad received such a negative reaction that the company issued an apology just 2 days after its release, ditching plans [to run it on TV]( with Apple’s VP of marketing communications Tor Myhren conceding that the promo had “missed the mark”. The [one-minute video]( features various instruments of culture and creativity — a guitar, books, turntables, cameras, antiques — being pulverized by an industrial crushing machine, leaving only the new, admittedly very thin, iPad Pro in its wake. Some people wrote long indictments of the ad, outlining why it represented all that was bad about big tech, while others were more economical in their damnation: “[Worst. Commercial. Ever.]( Rage bait The tech giant now has an interesting opportunity to take the old “all publicity is good publicity” maxim out for a test drive. Preliminary Google Trends data suggests this might be the most buzzy bit of promotion that the iPad product line, quarterly sales of which peaked back in 2014, has had in years. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine a world where Apple’s marketing execs didn’t see some kind of backlash to the striking visual of creative objects being destroyed. The fact that they’ve pulled the ad, however, weakens the “deliberately provocative” argument. It’s also just not very Apple — a company that's found success with [upbeat]( [uplifting]( ads in days gone by. For now, the ad still sits on CEO Tim Cook’s [Twitter feed]( having racked up nearly 60 million views and thousands of enraged replies. [Read this on the web instead]( Overtime New data out [earlier this week]( from The Conference Board revealed that nearly 63% of US workers surveyed said they were “satisfied” with their jobs, the highest rating since the poll began in 1987 (yay!)... not to be discounted, though, by the year-over-year drops in worker satisfaction observed across every one of the 26 specific categories they were asked about (yay?). Although some subcategories like commuting saw satisfaction drop off by a negligible amount, several fell far more sharply. Indeed, while workers were much less jazzed about the bonus plan (-7.6%), wages (-5%), and health plan (-7%) offered to them by their employers compared with a year ago, none of these factors seemed to play a hand in overall job satisfaction, which nudged slightly higher (+0.4%). Why? Perhaps there is some psychological dissonance between workers disliking all aspects of their jobs and saying, “Actually? This is fine.” Perhaps inflation or economic insecurity means that a job that pays the bills (and offers little else) is enough for many Americans right now. Or, perhaps asking to give a 1-5 rating for overall satisfaction as the final question on a 27-part job survey skews results by the pure relief of completion. [Read this on the web instead]( [Sponsored by Timeline]( All in good time We’ve all wondered when we start to feel the impacts of aging… and how we can slow it down. Aging actually starts earlier than you think. It begins in our 30s with the body's building blocks: cells. As the mitochondria (AKA cellular powerhouses) become less efficient, decreased energy production wears down our physical strength and endurance, making everyday activities and hobbies harder to enjoy. [Mitopure® from Timeline Nutrition]( targets the root cause of this decline by stimulating mitophagy, an innate cellular recycling process. This renewal stimulates double-digit (and clinically-proven) [increases in muscle strength and endurance]( — without any change in exercise. It’s no secret, just science — and Mitopure® is a clinically-backed solution to promote healthy aging. [Chartr readers get 30% off with code CHARTR30OFF](. [Chartr readers get 30% off Mitopure® with code CHARTR30OFF]( Cart before the horse During the pandemic, e-commerce boomed. Many people expected that trend to continue — the “new normal” was, after all, here to stay — but, since then, e-commerce sales have actually plateaued, with online giant Shopify ringing alarm bells [this week]( about the state of the industry. By the last quarter of 2020, nearly 17% of US retail sales were done online. Most expected that figure to continue rising… cut to Q4 2023, though, and what was e-commerce’s share? Still 17%. Despite Shopify president Harley Finkelstein telling investors that they’re currently seeing “the strongest version” of the company ever, shares still slipped 19% on Wednesday (the stock’s largest single-day decline in history), after forecasting slower sales growth and narrower margins. Meanwhile, revenues at the e-commerce platform, which provides most of the infrastructure for businesses to set up online storefronts (the company offloaded its logistics arm [last year]( were up 23% from the same quarter last year. Great expectations Shopify’s earnings reports list its location as “Internet, Everywhere” — the company is actually headquartered in Canada, no matter what its press releases say — suggesting a sense of omnipresence that investors were banking on when the company’s revenues started to soar during the pandemic. The company has grown at a rapid clip since then, but expectations seem to have outpaced reality, as retail sales returned to the physical world and Shopify’s growth slowed. SHOP shares are now down 63% from their Nov 2021 peak… but are still up more than 140% in the last 5 years. [Read this on the web instead]( More Data • Sweetgreen shares soared as much as 43% this morning as the veg vendor increased its sales [growth projection]( amid criticism for introducing [steak]( to its “Earth friendly” menus. • As prices in Argentina surge to record highs, the country has [started printing]( 10,000 peso notes — 5x the size of its biggest existing bank note. • Age-related muscle decline begins in our cells, from our 30s… but scientists have discovered a clinically proven way to target cellular aging. [Timeline's Mitopure®]( offers a new way to age. [Claim 30% off]( with code CHARTR30OFF.** • Language-learning app Duolingo has largely credited its [AI investment]( for a 54% boost in paid subscribers and 45% increase in revenue in its first quarter. • Everybody Hertz: A longtime Hertz rental car customer is demanding a refund for $277 that the company charged him for gas… while [driving a](. **This is sponsored content. Hi-Viz • Mapping out how our pastimes change with [time passing](. Off the charts: It’s Teacher Appreciation Week in the US, where California tops the list for teacher salary — but how much does the average educator in the state make per annum? [Answer below]. [Answer here](. Thanks for stopping by! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi%2C%0A%0AI%20like%20the%20newsletters%2C%20but%20I%20had%20a%20thought%20for%20you...) or want to [sponsor]( newsletter](mailto:james@sherwoodmedia.com?subject=Chartr%20NL%20Sponsorship%20Enquiry%20)? Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. [Subscribe]( Copyright © 2024 CHARTR LIMITED, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: CHARTR LIMITED 231 Vauxhall Bridge RoadLondon, SW1V 1AD United Kingdom [Add us to your address book]( Don't want charts in your inbox anymore? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](. [Privacy Policy](